Getting Treatment for PTSD at the IAFF's Center of Excellence with Curt Isakson
From Code 3 - The Firefighters Podcast by Scott Orr
August 28, 2025 · 18 min · Episode 354
About this episode
Curt Isakson discusses his experience with PTSD treatment at the IAFF's Center of Excellence and the challenges he faced with his employer.
If you spend any time on social media, you’re probably familiar with Curt Isakson. He has a massive presence on Facebook and about 6,000 followers. Chief Ike, as he’s also known, has had a 30-plus-year career in the fire service. He's also been an advocate for treatment of firefighters who sufFer from PTSD. So it was not a big surprise when Curt decided to enroll in the IAFF’s Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery. It’s an in-patient treatment program held at a facility in Maryland. The program is designed for firefighters and treats a variety of emotional problems. While about a third of the participants suffer from PTSD, there are also victims of substance abuse and other issues, like depression. In Curt’s case, he decided to check himself in to be treated for PTSD. As his social media followers know, his request for time off to be treated was denied by his employer, Escambia, County, Florida, Fire-Rescue. Curt decided to go anyway. When he returned, he was forced into retirement. But Curt is not sorry he went, even though he lost his job.
People in this episode
Host: Scott Orr
Guest: Curt Isakson
Topics covered
- PTSD treatment
- firefighter health
- mental health advocacy
- in-patient treatment
- career challenges
- substance abuse
- depression
Keywords
- PTSD
- firefighters
- mental health
- treatment
- IAFF
- Curt Isakson
- substance abuse
- depression
- retirement
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: IAFF, Escambia County, Florida Fire-Rescue
Places: Maryland
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